Pokémon Lightblue
by ElettraVolt
Summary: Alma, a young twelve-year-old trainer, wants to start a new adventure in the Pokémon world, but she will also have to delve in the darkest side of the Pokémon world at some point... Warning: All characters are original and do not appear in the games' story!
1. Prologue: Letter to Jasper

**Hello! This is my first story and I appreciate every kind of feedback. It will be a little long, but I hope you like it! Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon. All of its characters belong to Nintendo and Gamefreak.  
**

"_Dear Jasper,_

_Sorry if I didn't write to you for such a long time, but I had a lot of stuff to do. I was studying a lot to become a good Pokémon trainer - there's a lot to learn! Anyway, nothing important happened, but the day after tomorrow there will be the annual distribution of Pokémon of the Professor Leon!_

_I can't wait, I already got an appointment. The past year it was really crowded, people came from a lot of different countries!_

_Life here in Nuvema Town is boring as usual, but soon I'll start my journey to become a Pokémon trainer, so I'm not complaining._

_Normally you would start at the age of ten, but my mother was so stubborn it took me two years to convince her! You know how protective she can be, but at the end she gave up!_

_What about you? How are you doing in Nimbasa City? I hope everything is alright. I'm really glad to know that you've got a nice and spacious house, one day I'll surely come by!_

_I really don't have anything else to say, I'll write again when I'll get my first Pokémon!_

Kisses,

_Alma"_

I put down the pen, satisfied. Jasper was a great friend of mine here in Nuvema Town before he moved. Now I only had to wait for the postman to give him my letter.

I ran downstairs. My mother was preparing my lunch. "These days you seem excited. It's because of your journey, right? Did you revise everything you need to do? Are you sure you're ready?" she asked me.

I sighed. "Yeah mom, I did everything, I can't wait to start! I'm looking forward to the day after tomorrow!"


	2. Chapter 1: A tough choice!

**Alright, chapter 1! The story starts now! Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon. All of its characters belong to Nintendo and Gamefreak.**

Finally, the day of the grand opening arrived. As usual, people from all over the country came to get their first Pokémon, but I got there very early in the morning so I didn't have to wait that much to enter.

Inside the laboratory there were already two girls: one was Miria, a girl from my neighborhood, and I didn't know the other one. Miria and I were peers, but we never got to know each other that much. We were practically polar opposites: while she loved fashion, gossip and clothing, I couldn't stand these things. Well, except for clothing, but I didn't like her flashy style that much.

The professor turned to face us and greeted us. "Why hello there and welcome to my lab. I apologize for the mess... I hope you won't mind it!" In fact, Leon's lab was full of books scattered everywhere. Even the bookshelves were full. I knew Leon loved to write and read, but I never knew he was so passionate about it.

"Don't worry, professor! It's alright!" I said to break the embarrassing silence that was looming over the room. He smiled. "Well then, formalities are over! Why don't you three come here? I'll show you your choices." We stood forward as he took three Pokéballs from a drawer and released them, revealing the Pokémon inside.

The Pokémon were a lightblue monkey, a purple feline and a mustelid-like yellow and purple 'mon. Leon looked at us. "I'll introduce them to you. The monkey is Panpour, a water type Pokémon. The feline is Purrloin, a dark type. And finally there's Mienfoo, a fighting type. It's your choice! Who will go first?"

Miria stepped forward, a confident look on her face. "Of course I'll choose Purrloin. It's a star just like me!" "Very well. She's a female, how will you call her?" "Her name will be Shiny, because she shines as brightly as a star!" Ok, what was her problem? Anyway, I got the second choice. "Then I'll take the monkey" I said. "Alright, she's a female too. Nickname?" "Aria" I decided, there wasn't a particular reason, I just liked it. "I'll take Mienfoo then." declared the unknown girl. "Ok, he's a male. Nickname?" "Ares" she said. Woah, Greek mythology? That was cool!

"Alright! Alma, Miria and Angela, you're all done. I shall give you the Pokédex. With this you can register the data of every existing Pokémon. It will be very useful during your quest. It can also determine moves and sex of a caught Pokémon. I wish you all good luck for your journey!" So the other girl's name was Angela, huh? We thanked him and got out of the lab.

"I won't lose to styleless people like you two!" exclaimed Miria once we got out, eyeing our clothes with a skeptical look on her face. While I and Angel were dressed simply, she was wearing a glittery long, black dress, and high heels. "We might be styleless, but you can't go around in the dirt with those..." Angela noted.

"And what do you mean with "I won't lose"?" I asked, curious. She shot an icy glare at Angela. "Yes, in fact my traveling outfit is much cuter! And don't act like you know everything about me." Then she answered my question: "Isn't it obvious? We'll race to become the league champion! Can you imagine it? Nice dresses, parties every night, your face on every magazine of the region..."

I nodded. "That's a great idea, I like it! Let's do our best, Miria!" "Of course. Stars can only have great ideas!" she bragged. "I'm sorry, I'll have to pass." Angela said. "I don't care about the league. My only goal is to find and capture _that_ Pokémon." "That?" I wondered what she meant, but she didn't say anything. "Alright then, ice queen! You can stay out of this. Meanwhile, me and Amia-" "Alma." "Same thing- we'll go ahead without you! Bye bye!" Angela shrugged. "As you wish. Good luck."

While Angela went to route 1, Miria and I went home. She had to change, I had to update my mother on my choice and say good-bye. I was about to become a full-fledged Pokémon trainer!


	3. Chapter 2: Miria the princess

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon. All of its characters belong to Nintendo and Gamefreak.**

"Mom, I'm back! And I've got the Pokémon with me, too!" I announced, a proud smile on my face. Mom looked at me while I got Aria out of her Pokéball. "Oh, she's such a cutie!" she chirped, hugging her tightly. "Mom, you're going to choke her..." I noted, and she chuckled, putting the poor Pokémon down. "Sorry, sorry..."

"Oh, sweetie, I got these for you so you'll be able to fill your team." she said, giving me 5 Pokéballs. "Mom..." I was moved, she had thought of everything... "It reminds me of when I started my adventure, and when dad and I met..." she said, a melancholic look on her face. Right, dad... I rarely even got to see him. He apparently had a very important job in the Sinnoh region. The last time he came home was when I was seven. But I didn't hate him: I knew he loved me and mom very much, but he just wasn't able to come back often.

"So hang on, sweetie. Be strong." she said, a lonely tear rolling down her puffy pink cheek. "I will be, mom. Thank you." I promised, grateful, while she kissed me on my forehead. "Take this with you. It's a brand new backpack, and there are snacks and new clothes in here." she said with a smile. "You're the best, mom." She gave me a last good-bye kiss and then I got out of the house...

... Just to see Miria staring at me. Her green eyes were impatient, she was probably waiting for me. She had indeed changed her clothes, but not that much. Her black hair was arranged in a ponytail, she wore a black t-shirt filled with yellow glitter to form a star, a purple short skirt and high heels. What was she thinking, going around in heels? Maybe she didn't get out that often.

"You startled me there! What are you doing here?" I asked her. "We'll have to go together until Accumula Town!" "Hey, wait a second! Who decided that?" "Well, we're rivals! It would be unfair if one of us had the advantage, so we'll go together until the first town, then we'll split up! After that first come first serve. Did I make myself clear?" "Yeah, but-" "No buts! Let's go!" Jeez, she was such a bossy girl!

I walked for a while, then looked back. Miria was still distant. Oh, of course. The high heels. Not only that but it looked like she was trying to avoid getting dirty. "Oh god... this will take a while." I thought, shaking my head, then rushed to help her. She was much slower than me anyway.

"Alma, you wouldn't believe it! Everything is so dirty!" she said. "Do you even go out?" I asked her. "Of course! ... With the classy Unfezant of my parents!" "So it's your first time going out for a stroll or something?" "No! Well, kind of." _"I wonder what kind of parents she has"_ I thought, but just sighed and helped her out.

Eventually we got to Route 1. It wasn't my first time here, since sometimes I would go to Striaton City to help my mother with the shopping. But I never got further than that, at least by foot, so the outside world was a mystery for me as well. It was my first time going out on my own.

After a while we ran in a Lillipup. I knew normally they weren't aggressive so I approached him. "Hello, little one!" I said with a bright smile on my face. He barked happily and I started to pet him. Then the doggy saw Miria and it was instant love. Well, at least for him.

"Wooof!" he barked loudly then he jumped on her. "Yeaaaaw! Alma, get it out of my sight! He's horrible! He's dirty!" she started to panic. "Ay, ay, calm down..." I sighed, then I caught him. He didn't even resist: he just wanted to play with her. "Happy now?" "Yes, but it was disgusting!" "Don't be that way, he didn't mean to upset you." "Hmpf! I hate dogs. They're so invasive!" She was really hopeless.

I checked with the dex. Apparently the Lillipup was a male, so I decided to call him Blacky. Yes, I have no fantasy with names. I usually choose whatever crosses my mind. "So, are we ready to continue or what?" "Yes, yes, Miria, let's go!" I said. While she was still desperately trying to avoid getting dirty, I looked up, at the sky. _"What a beautiful day to start your adventure..."_ I thought.

At the end, Miria went ahead when she saw Accumula Town. "Well then Alma, here is where we part ways! Be grateful you spent some time with me!" "Sure, sure... bye!" I said while I saw her rush to a hairdresser. I decided to drop by the Pokémon center before to see how it worked.


	4. Chapter 3: The weird man and Angela

**Ok, this chapter is a little longer than usual! I hope you'll like it! Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon. All of its characters belong to Nintendo and Gamefreak.**

Half an hour later, I went out of the center when I saw Miria getting kicked out of the hairdresser. "And never come back!" the hairdresser yelled at her. "Fine! I wouldn't anyway!" she retaliated. "What did you do this time?" I asked her, looking at her hair. It was arranged in a braid. She didn't look terrible or something; actually, I thought she looked prettier. So what was her problem?

"I mean, I asked her to do a chignon, then I changed my mind and went for a ponytail again, but to the side! Then I asked for a braid and since I didn't like the result I asked for a chignon again, but she didn't want to! She was absolutely horrible! Is that the way to treat your customers? My mother changes my hairstyle like 6 times a day! On a regular basis!" "You know... you were being a really difficult customer." I said, shaking my head. She was really something else... "No! Even you betray me! Oh god, such a betrayal for a great star!"

I was about to reply, when we heard a scream. "No! Please! Don't take that away from me!"

"What was that?" I asked Miria, but she just shrugged. "I don't know..." then she jolted up. "Oh my god! It might be a scandal! I want to be in the newspaper too! Let's go!" "You're really impossible, you know?" I grunted, but went after her. In the square a thief was running away, carrying a television. "Nooo! Help me!" An old woman was trying to get people to help her but a Pansear was wreaking havoc with his fire attacks and preventing people from getting closer without getting burned.

"We have to help! Go, Aria!" The Panpour got out of the ball. "Use-" "Shiny, it's your turn!" the Purrloin danced in the air before touching the ground. "Miria, what's your plan?" "I want to be the one on the newspaper! Go, Shiny, stop him with a Scratch attack!" Purrloin distracted the Pansear with a Scratch and the thief was forced to stop because I and Miria got in the way and barred his way.

"Thou art nuisance indeed!" he grunted, then he ordered his Pansear to use Incinerate. "Shiny, avoid it with grace!" Miria said, and the Purrloin did avoid, but then she started dancing and Pansear easily hit her with a second Incinerate. "What's your problem? Why is she behaving like this?" I asked her. "Well, you see, I told her to move graciously and that's exactly what she's doing!" "Of course, but if she keeps going like this she will get knocked out in no time!"

Just as I was speaking Shiny was hit by another Incinerate and was starting to run low on health. "Miria, hurry! There's no time for exhibitions here!" I urged her. "Fine, fine, I understood! Shiny, use-" A third Incinerate hit her, this time burning the fur near her eyes.

And then, pandemonium was unleashed. Shiny got so angry she started repeatedly scratching her opponent until it was down.

"Errr... you see? Now THIS is how you fight!" Miria exclaimed proudly. Meanwhile, the police had arrived and the thief was forced to drop the tv and escape, not before howling: "Curse thee! Thou shalt be destroy'd by us, Team Antique!"

We were unfortunately unable to block him in time. "Man, he's fast on his feet!" I commented, tired, returning Aria in her Pokéball. "Heh! What counts is that I'll be on every newspa-" She didn't even finish her sentence: the reporters were interviewing the old woman. "AH! Must... get... screentime!" she said, running towards them. _'And she did this to appear on the news. Geez...'_ I thought, I was starting to get fed up with her.

We were then invited by the old woman to stay at her house for the night and we accepted. _'Well, I had to admit this was a pleasant day.'_ I smiled while I went to sleep.

The following day, after thanking the old woman for her hospitality, we got back on track. I realized that I needed to grind my team; the Pokémon of that thief was some levels higher than mine. But...

"Why are you still following me?" I asked Miria. "Hmpf! You are the one following me here!" "How is that possible? I'm walking way ahead of you." I sighed. Talking to her was like talking to a rock. "Fine, do whatever you want."

I was still walking when I heard the voice of someone calling out to me. "Aaaalmaaaa!" "Mom?" My mother was here? But why? "Sweetie, you forgot your Running Shoes, so I got you the new model! 'Flash shoes, run as fast as the wind in your quest to become champion~'" she said, mimicking the publicity. I smiled, a little embarrassed. "Thank you very much mom, but... you could've called me with the C-Gear, there was no need for you to run!" I said hugging her as I took the shoes.

"I still can't figure out how to use those... things" she replied. "Mom... oh, whatever, I'm just glad you're here." I chuckled. "Hey, hey, did you know that I-" and I was about to tell her about the "team Antique" guy when Miria interrupted me. "So you're Alma's mom?" she asked her. "Oh! You must be Miria! I've heard so many good things about you! Your mom is like super rich and you have the passion of clothes and fashion, right?" "Right on spot! ... Oh-my-god. Is that shirt the Limited Edition Five-Stars one by Rudy Zachell?" "Ohhh, you're an expert! I _love_ him! What do you think about the new model though? I think it's _absolutely breath-taking_!" my mom said, sparkles in her eyes. Oh god, she was about to start talking about fashion again. My mom kinda had an obsession with fashion.

"I _completely agree_! The pattern... it's so... Ahhhh!" Miria was getting fired up and so was my mom. Neither of them would have noticed my absence.

"Well then, I'll leave you to your fashion stuff" I said. "Bye bye!" As expected, neither of them answered. They were too busy talking. I was heading to Striaton City when I heard a familiar voice. "Ares, use Pound!" Ares? Wasn't that Angela's Mienfoo?

Following the voice, I saw her. "Hey, Angela!" She turned. "Oh, hi Alma! How are you?" she said, smiling. _'She's in a good mood.'_ I thought. "I'm pretty great, thanks. What about you?" "I'm feelin' good! I'm grinding right now, I wanted to catch a Munna but I found out they can be only found in the Dreamyard, so I'll be heading there tomorrow. For now I'm set on catching interesting and powerful Pokémon." she said.

"Munna, huh? Good luck with that." "Thanks. Would you like to battle me? I have to test my Mienfoo after all." I didn't have problems with that; it would've been nice to test out Aria as well. "Sure, let's go!" She nodded and sent out Mienfoo while I sent out Aria.

"Let's start with a nice and Fake Out!" Starting out with a flinch, huh? Her Mienfoo was probably stronger, but I still wanted to battle her. "Aria, try to avoid it!" She tried but to no avail; she was hit and flinched. That blow was quite powerful...

"Now, Pound!" Angela ordered. Aria was hit but she retaliated with a Scratch that got Ares near his eyes and limited his vision. "Attack with Lick!" Aria licked him but failed to paralyze him. Too bad. "Alright, Ares, don't give up! Use Meditate!" The move didn't deal damage, but I was pretty sure it did something... but what? I couldn't remember the effects of Meditate...

"Ok, follow up with another Scratch!" I ordered. "Meditate again!" Mienfoo avoided the attack, but was hit by another Scratch, and another. Still, he didn't fall. "Finish her with Pound!" Mienfoo hit hard, and Aria fell to the ground KO. I remembered now: Meditate raised the attack.

"Well, looks like the battle is over... I lost!" I said, a little sad but I did acknowledge that Angela was really strong. "You put up a good fight, Alma." she said returning Ares as I comforted Aria. "Thanks. You were great, congratulations." I said as we shook hands. We parted ways with a smile. I was sure I'd meet her again.


	5. Chapter 4: First gym!

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon. All of its characters belong to Nintendo and Gamefreak.**

I went to Striaton City to heal Aria, then I got back to route 2 to train. After a long grinding Aria and Blacky learned new moves and became stronger. I was satisfied with the result of the training, so I decided to head to Striaton City to challenge the gym, but... "I'm very sorry, the gym leader Seiren isn't here today. She is investigating Team Antique and their recent moves. She'll be back tomorrow though, so I'll get you an appointment." an assistant said. "Oh, thanks." I said. If Seiren was involved, team Antique really existed and it was a serious problem. So the weird man of Accumula Town wasn't lying...

"So come back tomorrow, ok?" "Alright, bye!" With that settled, I had to decide what to do. I checked out some shops, they were selling interesting stuff. _'Alright, let's see...'_ An electronics shop was showcasing a brand new TV that was showing today's news. I came closer to watch.

An interviewer was talking about the library of Nacrene City, and they were showing a teenage girl who was apparently an albino and a tall woman... On the twenties, probably.

"And now the cultural channel!" the interviewer exclaimed. "Here you can see the tycoon Ester Spathe giving out... Oh-my-god 1.000.000 poké! That's what I call generosity! Ester, what do you have to say?"

Now that the cameraman was closer I could see the facial features. While the albino girl had really pale skin, blonde hair and red-ish eyes, Ester was a tall, muscular but at the same time gracious and beautiful woman, with deep green eyes and long brown hair arranged in a braid. She had quite the unusual outfit: she was dressed in a medieval-like style.

"I am glad to know that this little donation will help. I think the History needs to be known better and a wider, more organized library should be a prelude to something greater." She said. Her voice was calm and solemn, the tone of a real leader. That said... She intimidated me.

The reason of my uneasiness were her eyes. Even though the voice was calming, they were cold and unforgiving, and I shivered. I couldn't tell what she was thinking. I instantly knew you couldn't mess with her.

"And what does Sakura, gym leader and librarian, think about this donation?" The albino girl was the gym leader of Nacrene City! Now that was a surprise. "W-Well, I would like to thank immensely miss Spathe, of course! It was really unexpected and we will surely use them to improve the library!"

There was an applause, then Ester and Sakura shook hands. The broadcast shifted to a cook that was explaining how to prepare a good sweet Poffin.

_'I've never heard of Ester, but I know the Spathes are really wealthy. Three years ago James Spathe was killed in unknown circumstances..."_ I thought, that news report made me think.

I went shopping and bought a light blue dress for the gym battle and brand new elegant shoes. I needed some clothes to put on if I wanted to participate in gym battles, right? Anyway, I went to sleep in the Pokémon Center; they had some rooms for traveling trainers.

The following day I woke up at eight o' clock and after some preparations I was ready to face Seiren. I went to the gym. "Seiren is waiting for you in the battle arena. Follow me!" The assistant showed me around. The battle arena was a huge room with a battlefield in the middle. There were no obstacles, anything: just a sandy field. After all, the first gym was very basic.

Seiren went down with an elevator, stepping in the battle arena, a serious expression. She was probably 16, she had blue eyes and orange hair. She was wearing a futuristic outfit. "Well, welcome to the battle arena, challenger! I'm Seiren, this city's gym leader. What's your name?" "Alma, I'm from Nuvema Town." "Alright, Cecily, would you mind explaining the rules?" "Sure" the assistant said. "It will be a single battle. You can use up to two Pokémon. The battle will end when both Pokémon of one trainer will faint. If you're both ready, we can start, I'll be the referee!" "Ready!" I exclaimed. "Likewise." "Alright, battle... start!"

"Go, Sieg!" Sieg was a green blob ball. The Pokédex identified it as Solosis. "Ok, go Blacky!" I sent out the Lillipup. He barked with a fierce expression. He was much stronger because of the training.

"Ok, start with Tackle!" I ordered. He looked at his opponent as he prepared his attack, sneezing because of the sand, then he started to run towards the Solosis. "Oh, no, I won't let you!" Seiren had a confident look on her face. "Stop him with Psywave!" The Psychic type attack hurt Blacky and he had to back off to avoid it. He looked at me, a concerned expression.

"Ranged attacks are psychic types' strength" I commented. _'We won't be able to deal damage without surprising them from behind or something...'_ I thought, this might be difficult, but Blacky barked encouragingly and I nodded. "You're right, we'll think of something! Try getting closer!" "You will be hit eventually! Continue on with Psywave!"

Blacky managed to avoid the Psywaves but he couldn't get close enough. "Try jumping up and hitting him from above!" I said. Blacky started running and gathered his strength to jump, but Seiren simply smirked. "Right where I wanted you to be! Hit him with a Hidden Power!" Unfortunately Blacky was hit and fell to the ground. "Blacky! Are you alright?" I asked, worried. "Woof!" he said, getting up, but he was struggling. Was that...

"Yup, it's Hidden Power Fighting." Seiren confirmed my suspects. Blacky got back on his paws, barking. "Come on, you can do it!" I encouraged him. He looked at his opponent again and then started running zigzag. "It's useless! Continue on with Psywave!" "Jump!" Blacky jumped again, his tongue out, ready to strike. "It's useless! Hidden Power again!" "Use Leer!" Blacky intimidated his opponent and distracted him long enough to use a powerful Bite attack.

"Alright, keep going with another Bite!" Blacky hit him again and again, a fierce light in his eyes. He didn't want to lose. "Woof!" He was finally able to get some hits off and he wouldn't waste this opportunity!

Sieg was almost KO, but he managed to get a Hidden Power off before fainting. Seiren chuckled. "Not bad. Let me show you Angel, then!" Angel was a Sigilyph. He looked really tough. "Ok, start off with a Bite!" I said. Blacky was scratching his ears with his legs but started his attack.

Sigilyph looked at him with stern face. "Angel, repel him with a Gust!" Angel was quick to react and immediately pushed him back with a strong wind. That was bad. Apart from Aria's Water Gun I didn't have any ranged attacks. Blacky was clearly tired. He was panting for the effort of taking two Pokémon on one. I decided that the wisest thing to do would've been returning him in the ball.

"Ok, come back, Blacky! Get some rest. It's your turn, Aria!" The Panpour got out of the ball and was immediately targeted with a Psybeam. "Whoa, watch out!" Aria was able to duck, but she shot an icy glare to the Sigilyph. "Ok, start things off with a Water Gun!" "Psybeam!" The two attacks collided, creating a rainbow-ish effect, but soon Water Gun was overpowered by the Psychic type attack and Aria was hit.

"Pour!" The Pokémon got up with relative ease, ready to fight. She blew the sand off her body. "Alright, continue on with a feint: use Water Gun to distract him and go with Lick." I whispered. Aria heard me with her trained ears and used the combination of attacks. Sigilyph was overwhelmed and Lick hit him, paralyzing him.

"Oh no!" "Oh, yes!" I exclaimed, happily. Finally luck was on my side! "Ok, go on with a Fury Swipes attack!" Aria grinned and then jumped to Sigilyph's height, repeatedly hitting him with the attack. Her claws were really sharp and damaged the ancient bird.

The Psychic type Pokémon now was struggling to regain his balance, but he broke free of the paralysis and hit Aria with a powerful Psybeam.

"Alright, Angel, keep going! Gust!" That might have ended badly... "Aria, hide behind the dust!" I said, at least she could defend herself that way. "Ok, now spin and use Water Gun!" The water type attack hit from every direction and Sigilyph couldn't avoid it. The sand finally cleared up, but Aria had already jumped, a determined expression, ready to hit again.

"Great! Use Lick again, and follow with a Water Gun!" Aria was able to get Lick off, but Sigilyph quickly reacted to the Water Gun with a Psybeam, and this time it hit hard, blasting Aria off. She fell down. "Aria! Are you alright?" The Panpour could just take one more attack...

"Ok, finish her off with a Gust and a Psybeam!" That was bad. I had Blacky waiting in the wings, but... "Run under him and use Water Gun!" Aria got up as quickly as she could and avoided Gust by staying underneath him, and was able to hit him, but he retaliated with Psybeam hitting her and knocking her out. She looked at me as to say "I'm sorry. I just couldn't do it..." but I just smiled. "You did great, now get back here." I said, returning her.

Blacky was my last chance. He was feeling better after the little break, but I knew I had to be careful with him. "Ok, time to finish it off! Use Psywave!" Blacky was accustomed to the move by now and was able to avoid it swiftly, barking proudly. "Alright, nice! Go with a Bite!" Blacky was able to avoid the incoming Gust by running quickly towards him and hitting him on the head with a really good jump. Finally, he used Bite and then Tackle knocking Sigilyph out.

"Both of Seiren's Pokémon are unable to fight! The victory goes to the challenger, Alma from Nuvema Town!" "Great job, guys! We won!" I smiled as Blacky ran towards me and jumped to get his reward. I caught him in mid-aria and stroke his fur. "Good boy!" I smiled and he barked happily.

"That was a good battle! Cecily, give her the badge!" "Coming!" Cecily gave me the Thought Badge, and I thanked her. "Good luck for your journey. I'm sure you'll do great!" Seiren grinned. "Thanks! I really enjoyed this battle!" I smiled and we shook hands.

I got out of the gym, healing both Aria and Blacky, ready to head to the next route!

* * *

**So Alma got the first badge and Ester is introduced... what do you think? Let me know if you liked it! Thanks for the read, I hope you enjoyed it!**


	6. Chapter 5: Team Antique's rampage!

I was just going to head to Nacrene City when I saw Miria. "Hey, just where do you think you're going?" she asked me. "That was rude, abandoning me in the middle of the conversation." "You didn't even notice, right? Anyway, I'm going to Nacrene City to get the second badge..." I said, getting defensive. "Alright, but I'm coming with you." "Why?" "Because team Antique is starting to become a real problem in the routes, but with a star like me accompanying you, no one will dare to attack us!" _'I seriously doubt that... anyway, with this team Antique rampaging everywhere, we'll need to be careful.'_ I thought.

"Ok, let's make this quick." Miria nodded. "Of course! I'm a star, so we'll get out of there in no time!" "I hope we won't run in any team Antique grunts..." I sighed, following her. I didn't want to deal with a team of criminals so early in my journey...

The route was peaceful. There was no sound coming from the kindergarten; the building had probably been evacuated after the raids. That wasn't a good sign; it meant the situation was worse than I originally thought. "There, ye, stop! Are you not avised that this is team Antique's territory?" a team Antique grunt called out. Oh, just great. "Now, now... wherefore art ye here?" "I would answer, if I could understand what the heck are you saying!" I said, what kind of language were they using? It sounded archaic. "Yeah, use the common language!" Miria exclaimed, puffing her chest.

"Ye insult us!" "Ye art looking for a fight!" They said at the same time. "They are only looking for an excuse to fight..." I commented. "Yeah, if they want a fight we shall give them one!" Miria exclaimed. "Are you sure? They could be stronger than we are." "Don't worry! A star never loses!" "Fool maidens! Ye like to lose!" "Marry! They feign strength indeed!" The fight started, and they threw out a Roggenrola and a Blitzle. "Show 'em, Blizzi!" hollered the grunt with Blitzle. "Ye'll get destroy'd! Come hither, Hamlet!"

"Alright, looks like we'll have to win this one! Go, Shiny!" The Purrloin danced a little and then meowed, happy to be on stage. "Fine, go Blacky!" I went with him because I feared that Blitzle. If he knew electric type moves that could deal damage to Aria...

"Hamlet, show 'em a Tackle!" The Roggenrola looked at Shiny and quickly started to run towards her. The Purrloin looked disgusted and ducked by jumping left, but she was hit by a Shock Wave of the Blitzle. "Blacky, quickly! Target Blitzle and use Tackle!" "Woof!" Blacky barked and ran towards him at a high speed, but Blitzle just snickered and avoided the attack with barely any effort. _'He's fast! How do I stop him from moving?'_

In the meantime, Shiny was still jumping left and right, avoiding the attacks of her opponent with ease and a snobby expression. The Antique grunt was starting to get irritated. "Wherefore ye insolent bawd!" "Is that an insult?" she asked me. I shrugged. "Probably, anyway we should cooperate! This way the fight will be easier." "Fine, I'll let you decide. What should be do?" "We should probably try to target one of them, the other one will be easier to deal with later." "Alright. Shiny?"

The Purrloin landed after a pirouette and looked at Miria with questioning eyes. "Use Assist on the... stone thing!" "Ok, Blacky, target the stone thing as well with Bite!" The two Pokémon glared at Roggenrola and prepared to attack. "Ye art marry foolish! Blizzi, Shock Wave!" The Blitzle readied himself to attack, but I didn't want him to land another blow. "Get both behind Roggenrola!" I ordered, and the two Pokémon struggled to get in a good position, but as a result only Roggenrola was hit. Blacky immediately bit him to make him flinch so he couldn't react.

Assist copied Aria's Water Gun, knocking out Roggenrola. "Nay! I must retire! Thou shall hast to carry this burden alone! Haste, defeat them!" "I will doth as thou say! Blizzi, Shock Wave once again!" But now that Blizzi was alone, he stood no chance against both Blacky and Shiny. After like 10 pirouettes the Purrloin was able to hit him, and Blacky's Tackle finished the job. The Lillipup barked joyously and tried to lick Shiny but she backed away, a disgusted look on her face.

"Thou will pay!" "Let's run away!" The two of them vanished in the woods. "Wait! You still have to give us the money for our victory!" Miria chased after them, and I returned Blacky and ran after her. She was waiting for me in front of the entrance of a cave. "Let's bust in and destroy them!" she exclaimed.

"Wait, Miria. Think about it. If they purposely entered this cave it means that either there's an ambush lying ahead, or they know the cave well enough to know we'll stop chasing them there. It's not a risk worth taking at this stage, don't you think so?" I said, looking at her. "I guess you're right, Alma..." She nodded. "Ok then, let's head directly to Nacrene City. There we can actually find something to do."

We rushed to Nacrene City, arriving safely. "Thank god. If other grunts had tried to fight us, we might have been captured." I commented, breathing heavily for the run. Miria no longer had her high heels, so she was able to follow me around. She had probably realized that she was better off without them. But something bothered me. While we were running, I could swear I saw a silhouette watching us from the trees above. Was it just my imagination?

"Alright, I'm going to the malls. They have discounts and stuff!" Miria declared, interrupting my thoughts and pointing at a huge building in the down town. "Great. See you around then." "You're not coming?" "Not now, I'll get an appointment with Sakura for the fight. I might drop by later, though." "Ok, see you around!"

I went inside the museum. The building was gorgeous: it was completely white, with statues of Reshiram and Zekrom on the sides. I was really interested in checking it out: I loved ancient Unima's History! I knew about every legend, every ancient king... I was a great fan of the museum, and I loved to read too, so I wanted to check out the library as well. With Ester's donation, they had probably improved the quality of the books you could find there as well.

"Welcome! Do you need something?" the assistant asked me. "Well, I would like to get an appointment for a battle with Sakura..." "If it's today, I fear you'll have to wait. Today is Sakura's birthday, after all!" "Really? I didn't know! That's great!" "If you want, you can go talk directly to her in the café to the left. She loves to talk with challengers and I'm sure she will be pleased to see you at her birthday."

"Thank you very much! I will head there this instant!" I said. I exited the museum and got inside the bar. It was really crowded, with balloons and party hats flying everywhere, a huge poster with "Happy Birthday, Sakura!" written on it and some nice music in the background. I immediately found Sakura; she was being lifted up by a young man I didn't know. "One, two, three! Happy birthday, my love!" "Kyaaah! Stop it, Acquamarin, it's embarrassing!" "Heee heee heee!" So that young man was apparently her boyfriend, from the way they interacted.

Sakura got down, and looked at me. "Do you need something?" "Well, I'm a challenger to the gym. My name's Alma, I'm from Nuvema Town. Sorry to interrupt you, I wanted to ask you if you could battle tomorrow." "Of course, I'm free! Sit down, Alma, you're free to stay and eat from the buffet." "Thank you very much for your kindness!"

We talked for a while. She was a really quiet, easygoing and happy person, and I liked her a lot. Then Acquamarin came to pick her up to dance with her and I sat somewhere else. The person sitting on my right was a teenage boy, maybe on the 16-17. He had black hair and red eyes, and he was heavily dressed with a black coat. He immediately caught my attention. He had cold eyes, but he was really handsome, I had to say!

Noticing my gaze, he looked at me. We stared at each other for some time, then I found the courage to ask him: "Aren't you hot?" "I always wear this coat. My hometown is very cold, after all." "Huh..." He didn't look like he wanted to talk. "So, what's your name? I'm Alma!" He analyzed me with those cold, red eyes. "Ryo." he finally answered. "Oh! You're Icirrus City's gym leader, aren't you? Pleased to meet you!" There was an awkward moment of silence. From the rumors I heard, Ryo was a really strange and mysterious gym leader. He never talked to anyone. "Yeah... I guess." he said. Not the conversation type, huh?

Since he looked a little uneasy, I preferred not to insist for now. Maybe he simply wasn't in the mood.

"Hey, hey, is she really here?" "Looks like it!" "Move aside! I wanna see!" "Wow, I thought I'd never get to see her in person!" There was a ruckus outside. "What's the matter?" I asked to one of the guests. "It looks like Ester Spathe is here to greet the gym leader! What an honor!"

Soon, Ester appeared. She had a fierce aura and she was surrounded by bodyguards. One of them caught my attention. He had dark purple hair and blue eyes. The tycoon came to greet Sakura. "Hello, Sakura. How are you today? Happy Birthday!" "T-Thank you very much for this visit! I-I'm doing well! I bet it was difficult for You to find the time to visit me..." "Meh, I was planning to visit anyway. How is the library going?" "G-Great, miss Ester!"

I noticed Ryo glaring at Ester. "Is something wrong?" I asked him. "No, no. Just a little... stomachache. I'm going home." I knew he was lying, but why? He left and flew off with a Honchkrow. _'Maybe he can't stand Ester for some reason. I wonder why. Anyway, I'll enjoy the party and worry about stuff later.'_ I thought, it would've been rude to delve too much in the matter without knowing anything.

It was late night the party ended. Everyone got back home, and I saw Ester flying off on a Staraptor. _'If only I had a flying Pokémon too! That would be so cool.'_ I said to myself, looking at the starry sky.

* * *

It was late night. The girl ran towards Pinwheel Forest and switched on her C-Gear, dialing a number. She waited for an answer and finally got it.

"It's me." she whispered to the person she was calling. "How is it going?" the voice asked through the C-Gear. "It's going well. But today we had... trespassers." the girl answered, looking a little uneasy. "You didn't dispose of them?" "Well, the grunts failed to beat them, and they didn't fall for the ambush we had prepared in the cave." "I see... How were they?" "One of them was wearing ridiculously eccentric clothes, had black long hair and green eyes, but didn't look like a threat. The other one had dark, brown and short hair, blue eyes, and she was the one who didn't fall for the ambush. The other girl called her Alma."

"Alma, huh? Keep an eye on her for now. From your description it looks like she was the same one that was with that other girl you were describing when they stopped that pathetic grunt in Accumula Town. She might cause problems in the future." "Should I kill her?" "Not now. She might be a good addition to the team..." The girl nodded. "Understood. I'll do as you say." "Alright, ring me again tomorrow." The girl turned off her C-Gear. It looked like she had another mission, now.

* * *

**So, in this chapter some shady characters were introduced... what is the deal with Ryo and Ester? Who is exactly Ryo? And why is team Antique controlling the routes? The answers will be given soon! I hope you liked this chapter!**


	7. Chapter 6: Icy grip

The day afterwards was cloudy but it wasn't cold outside. It was a nice weather and I stretched my arms a bit, still a little sleepy after the night passed in the Pokémon Center. I had to challenge Sakura and I had to say, after the chat I had with her at the bar the day before I was pretty hyped to see what would she have in store for me.

I trained a little bit Aria and Blacky before the match. During the grinding, Blacky evolved in Herdier. After that I decided to enter the museum.

"Hello, do you have an appointment with the Gym Leader?" Acquamarin, the boy from the party and apparently Sakura's boyfriend, was standing near the door, smiling at me.

"Yes, I'm Alma from Nuvema Town!" I said, puffing my chest proudly, ready to take her on. Acquamarin giggled at my enthusiasm.

"Aight, gotcha. Sakura told me you would be coming! Over here, please!" I let Acquamarin guide me through the library. At the left corner, Sakura was reading a book on "Feeding 'mons: Secrets and tastes of the various types". When she saw me, she waved at me with a smile.

"Why hello there, Alma. I've been waiting for you! Shall we start?" she asked, a polite smile on her face. I nodded, I was really tense and excited. I felt ready to take her on.

"That's great. Follow me then! Do you mind being the judge of this match, Acqua?" she said, turning to face the boy.

"Of course not! Lead the way!" he promptly answered, smiling at me as to encourage me. Then he whispered: "Just don't take Sakura too lightly. She might be gentle with others, but in battle she's as cold and unforgiving as a blizzard." I nodded, thankful for his advice. The second gym was Ice types, and it wasn't going to be easy, even with the proper training. I could feel it.

Sakura lead us to the arena. The air conditioning was on, and I could feel a slightly cool breeze. The battle arena was the same as the first gym, but looking at the ceiling I saw some really dangerous-looking icicles hanging from it.

"Sakura, what are those?" I asked pointing at them. They looked really scary; what would've happened if one of them fell?

"Oh, you saw them already. They are... well, a little added difficulty. These icicles will fall on the ground every now and then. They haven't got a rhythm so I have no way of knowing where they will fall or when, just like you. It's random. Furthermore, if they hit a 'mon, they will stun it for a few seconds, leaving it unprotected. They can fall on my Pokémons just as they can fall on yours; you might want to pay attention while you're fighting." she explained.

"I see" I said, preparing Blacky's Pokéball. I wanted to start off with him before going with Aria. Ice wasn't very effective against water, so I wanted to keep her in case things didn't go as well as I planned. And those icicles... I had to be cautious and play around them, or even better, use them against Sakura to get a few hits off while her Pokémons were stunned.

"The battle will be a two vs two. The winner will have to knock out both 'mons of the opposing trainer. You know about the icicles, so... let's start!" exclaimed Acqua, signaling the beginning of the battle.

"Go, Blacky!" "I choose you, Suisen!" Suisen was a Cryogonal. I saw one of those in a documentary about Twist Mountain, and I knew they were dangerous foes. My suspects were confirmed shortly afterwards.

"Sui, start off with Mist!" Sakura immediately started off with a move. I couldn't even say something: a thick white mist started to form, clouding the entire battlefield and severely weakening my range of vision. "Blacky, come closer!" I ordered him. He barked and got out of the mist, but Cryogonal was still there and, because of the air conditioning, the mist was cold too, hampering Blacky's movements.

I heard a faint thump and I noticed something falling. Somewhere in the battlefield, an icicle had fallen. But I couldn't even see Sakura's Pokémon. That was really a problem. Blacky looked at me and barked encouragingly. "You're right! I shouldn't let something like this get to me." I said.

I couldn't finish my thoughts. An Ice Shard hit Blacky from the Mist. Sakura wasn't ok with standing without doing anything. "Blacky, are you o- To the left, to the left! Roll to the left!" Blacky yapped, rolling just in time as an icicle hit a spot that was really close to him.

_'This is not good...'_ I thought, but then decided to go on the offensive. "Blacky, listen up!" He turned to look at me with puzzled puppy eyes. Aw, he was so cute!_ 'Oh, no. I should focus on the battle. Let's see...'_ "Can you smell Cryogonal's scent and find him in the mist?" I asked.

He seemed to think about it. An Ice Shard came for him again, but this time he evaded the attack. After a moment, he nodded and sniffed the air. He ran towards the Mist. "Great, attack with Take Down!" Cryogonal had a frail defense after all; I heard a sound but I wasn't sure whose attack was it.

There was another thump and I finally saw, thanks to the Mist starting to lose its effect, that Cryogonal had tried to evade Take Down but was hit by an icicle, so Blacky attacked him and hit him. Unfortunately, Cryogonal recovered easily and hit my mon with a Night Slash.

"Not bad! Using smell to counter Mist is a really good idea." Sakura said, looking at me. Now the Mist was completely gone, and both Cryogonal and Blacky had suffered some hefty damage. They were staring at each other now; no one was willing to give up, though Blacky looked a little worn out by the cold Mist.

Sakura was seemingly calm, analyzing throughly the situation of the battle with her analytic eyes. Then she decided to take action. "Ok, now that he's close, Bind!" Cryogonal extended his icy tendrils in an attempt to bind Blacky's body in a cold grip. I wasn't going to let her do that! I had to think of something, and I had to think fast. I had an idea.

"Blacky, use Bite on the tendrils!" Blacky jumped avoiding one of the tendrils, then bit the other one, pulling it with all of his strengh. Cryogonal looked in pain, but with the free tendril tried to whip him. With agile reflexes, Blacky managed to spin him around, making him dizzy and failing the attack. An icicle fell, but it was pretty distant from the spot we were fighting on.

"Great going, Blacky! Now use Tackle to pin him to the ground!" I ordered. He barked, ready to attack, but Sakura broke my winning streak quickly. "Alright, Suisen. Shoot Mist in his face to blind him and then use Ice Shard!"

I wasn't expecting that move, and neither I nor Blacky were prepared. The Mist blinded him, forcing him to interrupt the attack in confusion, and Suisen smirked in triumph before using a powerful Ice Shard that smashed Blacky against an icicle that had fallen previously and he took the chance to hit again with a Night Slash.

"Damn! Blacky, are you okay?" He was obviously not okay. He had took quite the few hits, and he looked a little dizzy too. He wasn't in top shape, at all. "Wooof..." he tried to act tough, getting up and trying to hide the pain. "Blacky, if you don't feel like it, then-" "Woof!" he looked at me as to say "Are you kidding? I can totally handle this!" I could feel he was lying, but I didn't want to let him down showing distrust in his regards.

"Ok, then go with a Tackle!" I exclaimed, looking for a second at the ceiling. An icicle was starting to shake. It was about to fall, and it would probably fall near Blacky, so I had to stay cautious.

Blacky tried to hit Cryogonal, but he was way too fast. He easily avoided the attack and blasted Blacky with an Ice Shard. Even so, Blacky was able to get up and attack with Take Down, roaring at the confused Cryogonal, who was probably asking himself how was he still able to stand after withstanding so many attacks.

"Suisen, don't let yourself be fooled! He's low on health! Use Night Slash and finish him!" Cryogonal nodded at Sakura's commanding voice and without hesitation he knocked out Blacky, but the Herdier was able to hit him before he could react, dealing heavy damage. Now Cryogonal was low on health too. The icicle finally fell near Suisen, but didn't hit him.

"Alright, great job. Come back! Go Aria!" The Panpour jolted in the air and then landed on her foot, ready to battle. "Start things off with Fury Swipes!" Aria looked at her before dashing at an outstanding speed. Cryogonal was too tired because of Blacky's Take Down and couldn't move, so he was hit. Fury Swipes hit 4 times, knocking him out.

"Great job, Suisen. Rest for a while now." Sakura said, returning her Pokémon. "Now, do your best, Tsubaki!" Tsubaki was a wonderful specimen of Glaceon, and looking closer I saw her fur was lighter. She was a shiny Pokémon!

"Wow, she's beautiful! Congratulations!" I complimented her, she had really pretty colors. Sakura briefly smiled.

"Thanks, but are you sure you can take her on? She's pretty tough, you know?" she said, a confident smirk on her face. I giggled. She had quite a lot of confidence!

"Well, I'll do my best! Go with Scald!" Aria nodded and dashed forward. Unfortunately Tsubaki was quicker and managed to avoid the hot water, and froze Aria's left leg with an Ice Beam. Aria yipped in pain and fell to the ground, right where an icicle was about to fall!

"Aria, use Scald on the icicle above you!" I managed to say. She nodded and melted the ice with a clean attack. That gave Tsubaki some room to attack, though, and she bit the Panpour with Bite.

"C'mon, Aria, now that she's close! Scald!" I encouraged her, for now that move was my best bet and the most powerful I had. Aria snorted and freed herself, sending Tsubaki off balance before hitting her with the Water-type move, burning her.

"Great job, Aria!" I complimented her. But Tsubaki wasn't ready to give up just yet, and neither was Sakura.

"Come on, Tsubaki! You can do it! Use Quick Attack!" Even with the damage of the burn the Glaceon managed to pull off the attack, hurting Aria that couldn't avoid it. She was sent flying for a brief time.

"Don't give up, Aria! Attack from above with Fury Swipes!" I ordered her, as she tried to pin down Tsubaki to attack her. It didn't work. Tsubaki smirked and fired a Shadow Ball at point blank range, hitting her and blasting her to the ground.

"Aria! No!" I exclaimed, alarmed. She was quite exhausted now, but managed to get up and looked at Tsubaki with anger and determination. An icicle fell between them, confirming their rivalry.

Even though Tsubaki was slightly weakened by Scald's burn, she dashed forward, trying to hit Aria with another Quick Attack. "Aria, jump up and use Scald again!" This time it worked, catching the shiny Glaceon off guard. But Tsubaki wasn't going to let Aria go away. Grunting, she hit her with her tail, sending her off balance and slamming her to the ground.

Aria was at her limits, but Tsubaki was too with the burn damage stacking up. The shiny Pokémon was breathing heavily, several burns signs spreading on her body. I briefly looked at the ceiling, and found an icicle about to fall. If I got the timing and the move right... that could've been my only chance to win without having to stall the burn out.

"Alright, Aria! Use Fury Swipes and pressure Tsubaki!" I ordered, breaking the cold silence of the gym, interrupted only by the pantings of our Pokémons.

"Use Ice Beam and strike her down!" retaliated Sakura. Tsubaki opened her mouth, ready to attack. In that moment I saw the perfect opportunity to bring her down. I had to get that right!

"Scald on her mouth, quickly!" The attack worked and Tsubaki staggered in pain, taking a few steps back, right where the falling icicle from before hit her, knocking her out and permitting me to get a few hits on, closing the match.

"Yes! We did it!" With some luck, we had managed to win, using the hazards against Sakura. The gym leader sighed but then smiled, letting Tsubaki get her rest.

"You did great, Alma. There's no doubt you deserve this." she said, handing me the Frozen Badge.

"Thank you very much, Sakura. It was a great match." I answered, stroking Aria's chin as she chuckled happily.

"Sure was! There's a gift for you. It's the Ice Beam MT. These can be used multiple times, so go ahead and teach it to everyone!" she said with a grin. "I must go now though. Let's have another match sometime."

"I'll be looking forward to it!" I waved at her while she left, holding hands with Acquamarin. "Great! We got the badge. Next city should be... Castelia City!"

* * *

**Sorry for the delay in posting this. I had a lot of exams to take. I hope you enjoyed it!**


	8. Chapter 7: Unexpected encounters

After resting up at the Pokémon Center, I decided to head for Pinwheel Forest. From what I heard, the direct path was open, though I wanted to go through the labyrinth path in order to get one of the Bug Pokémon that strolled the area. Bug types, other than being really cool in my opinion (I actually didn't mind insects) had a nice and handy resistance to Fighting, the typing of the next gym.

I also got a map of the woods from the center; after all, you never know and I thought I might have needed it if I was going to delve deep in the woods.

Upon entering the dark woods, I started heading to the left side of the forest, where the Pokémon lived. As I was strolling around deeper in the forest, looking for a Pokémon to catch, I was approached by a girl. She looked around seventeen...? I couldn't tell, but she was really pretty. She had blonde hair and warm blue eyes, pale skin and was wearing a cute light blue dress. I noted it was tattered in some points, though. An incident?

"Hello! Are you by chance headed to Castelia City? I fear I might be lost." she said, looking at me apologetically. I nodded.

"Yeah, sure. I was just about to go there. Before that, though, I wanted to catch a Pokémon. Do you want to go together?" I offered, showing her the map.

"Thanks goodness! I would be grateful for your guidance, darling. I thought I might try to catch a Pokémon in here too, and I did, but I lost the path afterwards. I'm such an airhead!" she said, chuckling nervously.

"Don't worry about it." I said with a smile. "So... you're a trainer too?" I asked curiously, looking at her bag. It was a rather old-fashioned one, made of silk and strass. It did have its charm, though.

"Yes! I'm sorry, I haven't even introduced myself. My name's Arcadia. I'm a newbie, really – I've just started." she said, offering her hand. I shook it.

"Alma, pleased to meet you! Shall we go, then? I'm interested in finding a Venipede, or a Sewaddle. I hear there are quite a lot of those in this area." I explained. She followed me, looking around. For a second, her gaze changed into a colder one. But it was just a second, and I quickly forgot about it.

"Oh, there sure are! I ran into one in the western area. Though I fear he might be a little aggressive. When I tried to approach him, he attacked me! Just be careful if you want to catch him, darling." she exclaimed, looking at me.

"I will, I promise. Can you lead me there?"

"I think I can. Though there are some trees you'll have to get past. Almost shred my dress while trying to proceed. I knew I had to put on something lighter. Oh well, it will be for next time." Oh. So that explained why it was tattered. I did hear of the trees blocking the bath, but they were also good hiding spots for Pokémon, so I wanted to check them out. Plus, I had changed into my journey outfit, a t-shirt and shorts, so even if they got a little tattered it was no biggie.

"So... Arcadia! Where are you from?" I asked while walking. No Pokémon in sight, for now – but we were just getting started, after all, and we weren't in the tree area yet.

"Well, I'm from Route 18 actually. So I travelled to Nuvema Town and took things from there." she said with a giggle. "It's such a distant place, no one comes to visit. I've always felt a little lonely, so I decided to start a journey. At first, I wasn't really interested in Pokémon, but I've changed my mind. It's a great thing. The bonding with a Pokémon... the way you fight together... the feeling of your hard-earned victory after a long battle... it's all amazing." There was an inspired light in her eyes, as if she was really believing what she was saying.

"That's great! You really do understand Pokémon for a starting trainer! I've yet to grasp the full meaning of those concepts, though I can relate to what you're saying." I said with a chuckle. She looked at me in a funny way.

"Yeah, I guess you can say so. Anyway, we're here! It's the tree area and... is that a trainer?" she said, pointing at a boy who looked around my age or one or two years older. He was poking a Pokémon with a stick. It was a Venipede. "Uh, it looks like the same one from before!" Arcadia mused.

"But what is he doing?" I asked, worried. The Venipede didn't quite look amused: he was aggressively hissing at the boy, but a Pansear, probably that boy's Pokémon, was burning him if he got too close.

"Die! Die! Little scum!" the boy said with a grin. I had a shiver running down my spine: he was torturing the Venipede! I couldn't let that happen!

"Hey! Stop it!" I exclaimed, walking up to him and grabbing the stick from his hand. He glared at me, while the Venipede hissed and got away.

"What's your deal? I was just having fun! Besides, that little scum tried to poison me when I got close!" he answered, pushing me away.

"Don't you mean, he tried to defend himself when he got attacked?" I angrily said. "And that does not justify your actions! You were torturing him!"

"So what" he said, laughing "it's just a bug! What are you getting so worked up about?" That's it! That was my limit. Even Arcadia looked flustered.

"You. Me. Battle. You're going down." I announced. I was really pissed off. How could he treat a Pokémon like this? That was way beyond wrong. It was straight out cruelty and sadism.

"Alright, Flaming Girl! Let's get this over with. Quickly, if you please. I have important stuff to do." he sighed, crossing his hands.

"Sure." I glared at him. "By the way. Name's Alma."

"Jacob. Now go, Juan!" he said, sending out a Patrat.

"Go, Aria!" I went with her, feeling confident that the experience at the gym helped her grow. Aria seemed to feel my anger, because she nervously looked at her opponent, probably wondering what did he do wrong to upset me.

"Start off with Scald!" I ordered her. She jumped on a tree and attacked from there, trying to take the opposing Pokémon by surprise. Unfortunately, it didn't work: the Patrat rolled to the side avoiding the attack and, with a warlike cry, he went for Tackle.

"Aria, hit him while he's close! Try again!" she nodded, looking really concentrated, then blasted him off balance with a kick before the hit could connect and hit him with Scald. The attack seemed to hurt the rodent, and he rolled in the grass in pain. I felt bad for him, having such a cruel trainer. But if I wanted to beat the guy, I had to knock that Patrat out, as painful as it might be.

Arcadia was watching and nodded gravely, as if she understood what I was going through. She really did have a close bond with Pokémon. I decided I had to finish him off. He was burned too, so he couldn't do much damage with physical attacks.

"Come on, you can do it! Stand up god dammit!" The boy exclaimed, angrily looking at the poor rodent. He tried to stand up, but he clearly wasn't feeling well.

"Aria, finish him off. Another hit should do it." I said. Aria looked at me and gave me an encouraging, but quite sad smile and then she attacked with Fury Swipes, knocking him out.

"Oh! You useless rodent!" the boy gritted his teeth. "But I won't let you win! My Pansear is like, totally awesome! Go, Lawrence!" Lawrence, the Pansear from before, grinned as he was enjoying it. Aria got a little nervous. She didn't like his smile, and neither did I. This Pokémon was definitely different than the Patrat, more like his owner.

"Ha! You shall quiver in fear in front of Lawrence." the boy mused, enjoying my nervousness. I still had the type advantage... right?

"Be careful, darling." Arcadia said. She looked different from before, a little more... serious? Was she always like this during battles?

"I will be, thanks." I answered, still looking at the Pansear with uneasiness.

"Ok, time to light it up! Use Incinerate!" The attack didn't quite hit Aria, but it sure hit the grass, and it lit up really fast, so fast I had to use Scald to put it off.

"Hey! Knock it out! Do you want to start a forest fire?" I said, looking really worried. The boy grinned maliciously.

"Who cares? It's a battle – everything goes." he said, seemingly enjoying the situation.

"You've got to be kidding me. You're going to be in so much trouble." I said. I never thought people of my age could be so evil. Or, well, at least I never encountered someone like this. What kind of excuse was that, anyway?

"Go ahead and try and hit me if you're able." he taunted me. His Pansear moved really fast, and I had difficulties trying to follow all of his movements. Yes, hitting him would've been definitely hard. But I wasn't planning to give up because of that! Especially after what I saw.

Aria tried to pinpoint him, but she failed and got hit with a powerful Fury Swipes. And another. And another. He was slowly wearing her down while making it very difficult for her to hit him. It wasn't the best scenario for a fight. But I had an idea to slow him down.

"Alright, Aria! Hide in the fallen trees!" She looked at me, puzzled, but obeyed. She muscled her way past the boy, jumping up and entering one of the trees, hiding in there. "Ah, move continuously! Don't let him get to you!" I saw a blue figure moving out, so she got the order. It worked. Pansear looked confused, and trying to burn down the trees wouldn't have worked, unless the boy wanted to get burned.

"Lawrence! Search for her and bring her out!" Jacob looked frustrated at the situation. He clearly wasn't expecting that. Unfortunately for Pansear, when he leaned to look in a tree, he got Scalded in the eye.

"Good job, Aria! Keep it up!" I exclaimed. Every time Pansear tried to hunt her down in the trees he would get hit – and so it went on until he was no longer able to battle.

"No! Lawrence! How could this happen to you?" Jacob shook his 'mon, but there was nothing to do. "Damn it! Ok, Flaming Girl... I admit you're strong."

I looked at him angrily. Did he think he could just... shrug it off like this? "Yeah, sure. Anyway, never torture Pokémon again, ok? Also, starting forest fires is not cool, for your knowledge."

"I'm sorry! I just wanted to look cool!" he said, clearly scared. Yeah, know the facade was falling apart.

"If you do that again, though, you're going to be in trouble." I exclaimed. My anger was slowly fading, but I didn't want to let him go so easily. He whimpered and fled, with his Pansear and everything.

"Well... that was something." I said with a sigh. Arcadia came closer.

"I'm sorry you had to face that jerk, darling. Oh, but he looks like he wants to tell you something!" she said, looking at the Venipede from before. He was peeking at us from a tree, looking hesitant but also annoyed, as if he was thinking: _'Why the hell am I doing this?'_

"Hello, little one. Do you want to talk... or... something?" I said awkwardly, lowering myself to match his height. Boy, he was small. Maybe even smaller than an average Venipede. But he sure had fighting spirit, you could read it in his eyes.

"I think he wants to join you." Arcadia said gleefully as the bug approached me, poking at me with his antennae as to say: _'Well, what are you waiting for? Hurry up and get this over with.'_ He did indeed look grateful, and he wasn't aggressive, so I thought, why not? After all it would've pained me to fight it with all the burns he had to endure.

"Alright, c'mere, little one." I exclaimed with a smile, holding the ball. He hit it with the antennae and entered it, signaling his capture. "Yes! I got a Venipede!" Then I thought about his physical condition and got a little alarmed. "Oh! I have to cure him quickly! You don't mind if we hurry up a little?"

"I don't mind, darling." she chuckled, then became serious. "There's no messing around with burn injuries. Let's go."

I nodded, still a little dazed. She looked a little bipolar, switching from happy to dead serious in a matter of seconds, but it didn't bother me that much. What bothered me, though, was that boy.

Somehow we arrived to Castelia City, and there we parted. I hurried to the center, while she headed for the Thumb Pier.

* * *

**So! Arcadia appeared in this chapter, and stuff. Next city is Castelia, and a lot of things are going to happen there, so brace yourself! I hope you enjoyed, and have a nice day!**


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